Marvel’s Phase Two Films All Feature the Same ‘Star Wars’ Easter Egg

Marvel has long included Easter eggs in their films, referencing other superheroes and properties in the MCU throughout its current run with Disney. But there’s another Disney property that’s been acknowledged in the MCU: Star Wars. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige reveals that they’ve used the same Star Wars Easter egg in each and every one of their Phase Two films, although you probably didn’t notice it.

In an interview with Cinemablend, Feige revealed a very interesting Easter egg that’s been in each Phase Two film. It’s not exactly super obvious, but it’s a pretty cool choice and a neat way for Marvel to pay tribute to the epic Star Wars franchise. It also might be considered a bit of a spoiler, so read ahead at your own risk:

So is this a spoiler for Ant-Man… not really. I’m obsessed with Star Wars. Who’s not? I’m 40 years old. I’m in the movie business. I went to USC. So I’m obsessed with Star Wars – and it didn’t start out as intentional, but it became intentional, including that beat that you referenced. It sort of happens in every Star Wars movie, but I was sort of looking at it, ‘Okay, is Phase Two our Empire Strikes Back?’ Not really, but tonally things are a little different. Somebody gets their arm cut off in every Phase Two movie. Every single one.

As Feige notes, things are a bit different in Phase Two — it’s a little darker and a little more serious than Phase One, just as Empire was a bit more serious than A New Hope.

If you hadn’t picked up on that Easter egg (and I highly doubt anyone did before now), then here’s a quick rundown of each character that’s lost an arm in Phase Two: Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian lost his arm in Iron Man 3 during the climactic final scene; Loki used one of his magic illusions to make it seem as though he’d cut Thor’s arm off in Thor: The Dark World; Bucky lost his arm when he fell from the train in Captain America, as revealed in The Winter Soldier; and Gamora cut Groot’s arm off during her introductory action sequence in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Keep an eye out for more arm removals in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man this summer, but for now, let’s ponder about the wacky Star Wars Easter eggs Marvel will include in Phase Three. Please tell me a random character will have the Mos Eisley Cantina song as their ringtone in each movie. Please.